Anti-social Behaviour Orders

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 24 May (WA 103), how many anti-social behaviour orders have been issued in England since 1 January 2005.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: An anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) is a civil order which protects the community from behaviour that causes harassment, alarm or distress. ASBOs were introduced under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and have been available within England since April 1999. Data collected centrally for statistical purposes do not identify the type of anti-social behaviour that led to the issuing of an ASBO.
	From 1 January 2005 to 30 September 2005 (latest available) there have been, as reported to the Home Office by the Courts Service, 2,523 ASBOs issued in England. A table showing a detailed breakdown of the number of ASBOs issued at all courts, by quarter and criminal justice system area within England, is available on the Crime Reduction website at www.crimereduction.gov.uk.

Armed Forces: Predator Armed Drone

Lord Garden: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have had discussions with the Government of the United States about the acquisition of Predator armed drones.

Lord Drayson: There have been some discussions at official level with the US authorities about the potential acquisition of Predator, primarily in relation to a reconnaissance role, though they recognised Predator's potential utility in an armed role. There are no current plans to acquire it.

British Citizenship

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 12 June (WA 2–3), how a British overseas citizen can establish his claim to British nationality if, despite efforts to obtain written confirmation that he no longer holds Nepali citizenship, the Nepalese authorities do not respond.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: We would hope that the Nepalese authorities would be prepared to explain the basis upon which a person was holding a Nepalese passport. If, however, no response was forthcoming despite reasonable attempts to obtain one, the Home Office would have to come to a view on the basis of the information available to it, including information about the relevant Nepalese citizenship law.
	Ultimately, whether or not a person is a British overseas citizen is a matter of law. As such, only the courts can determine the issue conclusively.

British Citizenship

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 12 June (WA 2–3), to whom a person, such as is mentioned there, can apply to receive written confirmation that (s)he validly held British Dependent Territories citizenship until 30 June 1997 if (a) (s)he is resident in the United Kingdom; and (b) if (s)he is resident abroad; and what is the cost of obtaining such confirmation.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Inquiries about nationality status should be addressed to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate of the Home Office, if the inquirer is in the United Kingdom, or to the appropriate British embassy or high commission in other cases. The British Nationality Act 1981 enables a fee to be imposed for the provision of an opinion as to the status of any person under the Act, but at present there is no charge.

British Citizenship

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the standard of proof required to establish a claim that a person has been conferred ipso jure one of the forms of British nationality.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The standard is that normally applicable in relation to civil matters, ie proof on a balance of probabilities.

Buxton Memorial Fountain

The Earl of Sandwich: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Davies of Oldham on 20 December 2005 (WA 247), whether they have estimated the costs of restoring the Buxton Memorial Fountain in Victoria Tower Gardens in time for the 2007 bicentenary of the abolition of slavery.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Royal Parks has submitted a planning application to Westminster City Council to refurbish the memorial. Once it has agreed with English Heritage how the work should be carried out, the Royal Parks will let a contract for work to begin as soon as possible. The intention is to complete the refurbishment during 2007, the year that marks the bicentenary of the Act of Parliament that abolished the slave trade.

Care Provision

The Earl of Listowel: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What guidance they provide to local authorities regarding young people staying in residential or foster care until 18 or beyond.

Lord Adonis: Local authorities are placed under a duty, by Section 22 of the Children Act 1989, to safeguard and promote the welfare of looked-after children. Local authorities have a duty to consult children, among others, before a decision is taken that affects them. The review of children's cases procedure, derived from Section 26 of the 1989 Act, places a duty on local authorities to have a plan for the future care of looked-after children and to appoint an independent reviewing officer (IRO) to conduct the periodic statutory reviews of their cases. There is statutory guidance covering the IRO role. It is expected that children should be actively consulted about any proposal to change their placement arrangement and that views expressed by the child (and others) should be accorded appropriate weight.
	These duties extend to any decision that the local authorities may take to cease to look after a child. Where children are looked after because they are the subjects of care orders imposed by the court, they can only cease to be looked after where the court has approved an application for the order's revocation.
	The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 is based on this care planning framework. However, at the age of 18, a young person is legally adult and, therefore, can no longer be a looked-after child. The Act, its regulations and guidance require local authorities to assess and plan for meeting the needs of care leavers, including ensuring that they are provided with accommodation suitable to their needs. This might, in relevant cases, be the placement in which they were living prior to their 18th birthday, which could be a residential or foster care placement.

Care Provision

The Earl of Listowel: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps they are taking to ensure the consistent availability of good-quality accommodation to those leaving care.

Lord Adonis: The Government have established the legal framework to enable local authorities with responsibilities for care leavers to make available appropriate accommodation. The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000, which commenced in October 2001, requires that all local authorities must provide a pathway plan and personal adviser for each care leaver for whom they have a responsibility. The pathway plan must include details of the accommodation that the young person is to occupy. As with any other services set out in pathway plans, the provision of accommodation for care leavers should be based on an assessment of individual need.
	The requirements set out Section 10 of the Children Act 2004 provide the opportunity to enable improved joint planning to better meet the housing needs of children and vulnerable groups of young people, including, for example, young people who have left local authority care. The section requires each children's services authority to put in place arrangements to promote co-operation among those who engage in activities in relation to children and young people, and gives key strategic partners, including housing authorities, a duty to take part.

Children's Homes

Baroness Stern: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many places are provided in local authority secure children's homes (a) currently; and (b) in each of the past five years.

Lord Adonis: The table below shows the number of approved places in local authority secure children's homes in England and Wales between 2000 and 2005.
	
		England and WalesNumbers
		
			 At 31 March 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
			 Places approved/available 455 450 445 445 450 400 
		
	
	Source:
	SA1 form 1999–2000 to 2004–05

Children's Homes

Baroness Stern: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the level of occupancy of places in local authority secure children's homes (a) currently; and (b) in each of the past five years.

Lord Adonis: The table below shows the level of occupancy of places in local authority secure children's homes in England and Wales between 2000 and 2005.
	
		England and WalesPercentages
		
			 At 31 March 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
			 Occupancy rate (%) 83 88 93 94 93 91 
		
	
	Source:
	SA1 form 1999–2000 to 2004–05

Contaminated Blood Products

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Warner on 30 March (WA 147) on the administration of the Skipton Fund for ex gratia payments for hepatitis C infection from contaminated National Health Service blood products, what developments there have been in regard to fraud against the fund and surveillance of its administration.

Lord Warner: The NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service is continuing to work with the fund to ensure that measures are in place to prevent fraud from both internal and external sources. Action has been taken to implement several recommendations from this work. Further measures remain under consideration.

Deepcut Review

Lord Garden: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will review further their response to recommendation 27 (Armed guard duty by soldiers and trainees under 18) of the Blake Deepcut review in light of the concern expressed by Nicholas Blake QC on 13 June that "the Ministry of Defence's response leaves unaddressed a recognised area of risk".

Lord Drayson: As explained in the Government's response to the Deepcut review, armed guarding by soldiers and trainees under the age of 18 is restricted by reference to age, qualification in weapons handling, supervision and stage of training. No phase 1 trainees undertake armed guarding and no under-18s may undertake armed guarding alone, even if they are fully trained and qualified in weapons handling.
	We recognise that Mr Blake indicated in his report that 18 is the appropriate minimum age for armed guard duty, but we would not want to rule out the possibility of two, appropriately trained and qualified, 17 year-olds undertaking armed guard duty together, as may be the case on occasion under current policy, as (particularly for the Army) weapon handling and guard duty are an important aspect of service life.
	We fully recognise, as Mr Blake pointed out in his report, the special responsibilities that come with arming under-18s and we therefore aim to take appropriate precautions relating to their safety and well-being. These include: tighter procedures to identify those at risk of self-harm and to deny them access to means; the need for weapons training and assessment before an individual is qualified to be armed; the responsibility of the chain of command to know each individual and to be confident that they are sufficiently mature and sensible to carry a weapon; and the requirement for each guard to be under the command of a guard commander.

Deepcut Review

Lord Garden: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they intend to review further their response to recommendation 26 (The role of the Commissioner) of the Blake Deepcut review in light of the comments made by Nicholas Blake QC in paragraphs 17 to 21 of his response on 13 June.

Lord Drayson: Our proposals with regard to recommendation 26 of the Deepcut review, as stated in the Government's response to the review, will now be subject to the full process of parliamentary scrutiny. The remaining stages of the Armed Forces Bill's passage through Parliament will provide the opportunity for such examination and debate.

Domestic Crime, Violence and Victims Act 2004

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 6 June (WA 179), what is their estimate of the funding needed to enable them to bring into force the provisions for non-molestation orders in the Domestic Crime, Violence and Victims Act 2004.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: Section 1 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004—to make breach of a non-molestation order a criminal offence—is costed at £2.8 million per full year. However, Section 1 is part of a package of measures, which, if brought together, limits costs to £10 million per full year. These are annual continuing costs, not just start-up costs. We regularly review budget lines to identify funding at the earliest opportunity.

Eritrea and Ethiopia

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What response the Governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea have made to the United Nations Security Council's call for both parties to co-operate fully with the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission in order to resume the demarcation process.

Lord Triesman: We have not seen a formal statement by Ethiopia or Eritrea in response to UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1678 (2006). Eritrea declined to attend a meeting of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission, which had been planned for 15 June. We continue to urge both parties to comply with the UNSC's demands and to co-operate with the boundary commission to achieve demarcation of their common border.

EU: Council of Ministers

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why they have reversed their policy on opening European Council meetings to the public.

Lord Triesman: The European Council has agreed "An Overall Policy on Transparency", as itemised in Annexe I of its conclusions. The European Council also agreed to review this policy after six months to assess the impact on the effectiveness of the Council's work. The Government support this approach.

Family Planning

Baroness Tonge: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What discussions they have held with the faculty of family planning in the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists regarding the provision for (a) family planning and medical gynaecology; and (b) training of family planning doctors in the newly configured primary health care trusts.

Lord Warner: The Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care (FFPRHC) met both the Public Health Minister at the beginning of this year and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer in December 2005. Issues that were discussed included capacity building, service provision and service redesign to enable sexual and reproductive health services to make a full contribution to the sexual health priorities within the NHS operating framework 2006-07.
	The FFPRHC also meets Department of Health officials on a regular basis. They are jointly working to consider ways of strengthening capacity and addressing workforce skills and training to improve service provision.

Government: Official Residences

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which (a) officials, and (b) former officials of the Ministry of Defence currently have the use of a residence owned or financed by the Government; and, in each case, what is (i) the title of the official in residence, serving or retired, and (ii) the annual running cost of the residence.

Lord Drayson: Within the department's stock of some 70,000 properties worldwide, 37 are known as official service residences. All these are currently occupied by senior serving military officers for representational purposes.
	Of the remainder, it is likely that a small number are occupied by civil servants in connection with their current post, these mainly relating to overseas postings. However, the details are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate effort. None is known to be occupied by retired officials.

Gulf War: Pensions

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Ministry of Defence now accepts that errors were made in its handling and interpretation of the Pensions Appeal Tribunal's decisions in cases of Gulf War syndrome as adjudged by the tribunal; and, if so, whether they will indicate the nature of any such errors; and
	Whether they will set out in the Official Report the letter sent to the Ministry of Defence on 5 April by the president of the Pensions Appeal Tribunal, Dr Harcourt Concannon, which made critical comments on the department's interpretation of the tribunal's decisions in cases of Gulf War syndrome; and how they respond to his observations with regard to "reinterpretation" and "tampering".

Lord Drayson: A copy of the president's letter sent to the Ministry of Defence dated 5 April, which refers to a Pensions Appeal Tribunal decision in the case of Mr Mark McGreevy, has been placed in the Library with the agreement of the parties concerned. A copy of the response from the Ministry of Defence dated 5 June, which explains the application of Gulf War syndrome as an umbrella term, in accordance with the decision in the Martin case, has also been placed in the Library.
	The Ministry of Defence acknowledges that the notification letters that were sent to Mr McGreevy included, under the umbrella term of Gulf War syndrome, conditions which had previously been awarded and which were not the subject of subsequent appeals. The Ministry of Defence did this in good faith but accepts that it went further than required and has apologised to the president of the Pensions Appeal Tribunal for this. Guidance is now in place to prevent this from happening in future notification letters.

International Criminal Court

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In what ways they are co-operating with the International Criminal Court in order to bring indicted and suspected persons to justice; and whether for this purpose they will consult and accept evidence from relevant non-governmental organisations, both at home and abroad.

Lord Triesman: The United Kingdom is a firm supporter, in principle and in practice, of the International Criminal Court (ICC). From time to time, the ICC requests assistance from states parties, either in relation to an ongoing investigation or in relation to the wider functioning of the court. The UK considers any specific request put forward by the court.
	The Government will continue to support the ICC as it takes forward its investigations and to maintain political pressure on all parties to provide full co-operation to the ICC. We have called on all those involved to work to facilitate the arrest of the individuals subject to ICC warrants.
	In addition, the UK concluded a witness relocation agreement with the court in November 2004 and an exchange of letters on information sharing was signed in August 2005.
	Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) often have access to information relevant to ICC investigations. Under the Rome statute, any individual or organisation may submit information directly to the ICC prosecutor. We welcome the full and open dialogue that exists between the Office of the Prosecutor and a large number of national and international NGOs.

Iraq: Military Casualties

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the figures given to Parliament of the number of British military casualties in the Iraq deployment are accurate.

Lord Drayson: All figures given to Parliament are accurate, based on the best information available at the time. In this instance, we know that, during the early phases of military operations in Iraq, the tempo of operations was such that some of the paperwork associated with casualty reporting was not always completed. We cannot therefore be certain that our records are complete and we are currently verifying figures for British military casualties on Operation TELIC.
	I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence in another place on 16 June 2006 (Official Report, col. 1525-6W) for the best figures currently centrally available.

Israel and Palestine: Funding

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	To what extent the quartet has been able to persuade the Government of Israel to use withheld customs and VAT moneys to pay the current and accrued utility bills of the West Bank and Gaza; and what are the prospects for such set-offs in future.

Lord Triesman: Both the quartet (EU, US, UN and Russia) and EU Foreign Ministers continue to call upon Israel to transfer the revenue that it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. At the moment, Israel uses some of the revenue to pay Palestinian utility bills direct to companies. On 17 June, the quartet expressed its hope that other donors, international organisations and the state of Israel would consider participation in the temporary international mechanism.

Judiciary: Terrorist Cases

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have any proposals to reduce the discretion and independence of the judiciary in dealing with terrorist cases.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: There are no plans to do so.

Licensing: Closure of Premises

Lord Clement-Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What powers under the Licensing Act 2003 have been used to close down licensed premises with a history of disorder and to prevent some licensed premises from screening games involving the England football team during the 2006 World Cup.

Lord Davies of Oldham: This information is not available centrally.
	Part 8 of the Licensing Act 2003 makes provision for closing licensed premises on grounds of disorder, imminent disorder and public nuisance resulting from noise emanating from the premises. In addition, Section 19 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 provides for the closure of premises selling alcohol for consumption on the premises in breach of the conditions of a premises licence. Sections 40 and 41 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 make provision for closing licensed premises on grounds of public nuisance resulting from noise emanating from the premises. In addition, where premises have been the scene of disorder or disturbance, the police and other responsible bodies may apply for a review of the premises licences and this can result in the suspension or revocation of the licence by the licensing authority.

Licensing: Closure of Premises

Lord Clement-Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many licensed premises with a history of disorder have been closed down or prevented from screening games involving the England football team during the 2006 World Cup under the Licensing Act 2003 before the beginning of the tournament on 9 June.

Lord Davies of Oldham: This information is not available centrally.

Licensing: Live Entertainment

Lord Clement-Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, following the outdoor performance of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the BBC's "Top of the Pops" programme on 15 April, they will amend Schedule 1 to the Licensing Act 2003 to clarify the distinction between public entertainment that is licensable and private entertainment that is not licensable.

Lord Davies of Oldham: We have no current plans to amend Schedule 1 to the Licensing Act 2003, as there is no evidence to suggest that the distinction is unclear. We shall, however, continue to monitor and evaluate the impact of the licensing reforms, to ensure that future proposed amendments to the legislation are evidence based.

London Mint Office

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What role, if any, they have in the London Mint Office, including its selection of products and its trading methods.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The Government have no role whatsoever in the London Mint Office.

Money Laundering

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many laundering reports were submitted to the National Criminal Intelligence Service in the last year for which figures are available; and, of these, how many were for sums (a) below £500; (b) from £500 to £5,000; and (c) in excess of £5,000.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Between the period 1 June 2005 to 31 May 2006, 207,555 suspicious activity reports (SARs) were received by the Financial Intelligence Unit at the National Criminal Intelligence Service and, from 1 April, the Serious Organised Crime Agency. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of the amounts of money recorded, as the information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

NHS: Pathology Services

Lord Maclennan of Rogart: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they expect to receive the report of the independent review of National Health Service pathology services, chaired by the Lord Carter of Coles.

Lord Warner: The independent review of pathology services, chaired by the Lord Carter of Coles, is expected to complete its report on National Health Service pathology services in England shortly. The Government intend to publish the report in the summer, together with an action plan to speed up modernisation of pathology services.

Passports

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many passports have been issued through the British embassy in Dublin in each of the past five years.

Lord Triesman: The number of passports issued through our embassy in Dublin in each of the past four financial years is approximately:
	
		
			 Financial Year Total 
			 2002–03 9,600 
			 2003–04 10,000 
			 2004–05 10,900 
			 2005–06 10,800 
		
	
	Data are not available for financial year 2001–02, as we did not begin to keep records until financial year 2002–03.

Pensions

Lord Varley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the old limits of HM Revenue and Customs, which restricted the level of occupational pensions in payment prior to "A-Day" on 6 April 2006 and funded by annuities purchased by the trustees of registered pension schemes from insurance companies to discharge their liability to pay a pension, have been preserved in any form.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: These "old limits" ceased to be a tax requirement from 6 April 2006, but may remain a feature of the terms of some annuity contracts purchased by the trustees of occupational pension schemes.

Peru: British Council

Viscount Montgomery of Alamein: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why they are closing the British Council operation in Peru; whether any further British Council operations in Latin America are to be closed; and what further plans they have for British Councils in this region.

Lord Triesman: The British Council's policy is to focus resources where they will achieve most impact in support of government priorities. Its presence in Peru has been very limited in recent years. The council currently has no plans to close further operations in the region. However, it is reviewing its overall strategy for Latin America, so that it can use its resources and staff in new and innovative ways, including developing projects of regional rather than purely country interest. It will also use virtual means to extend its reach, including in countries such as Peru where it has no representation.

Police: Reorganisation

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What was (a) the crime rate for each recorded category of offence, and (b) the detection rate for each police force throughout England and Wales broken down by forces numbering (i) under 4,000, and (ii) over 4,000, in each of the past 10 years.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The statistical information requested is too detailed to be placed as a formal answer. I will place a copy in the House Library.
	In April 1998, the Home Office counting rules for recorded crime were expanded to include certain additional summary offences. In April 2002, the national crime recording standard was introduced to ensure greater consistency between forces in recording crime and to take a more victim-oriented approach to crime recording. Both these changes resulted in an increase in the number of crimes recorded, and need to be considered when looking at the trends in recorded crime.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the records of prisoners serving custodial sentences who have been recommended for deportation by the courts should be held by the Home Office, the prison in which the prisoner is being held and the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: I have provided regular updates to the House on all aspects of the recent events concerning the department's handling of the deportation of foreign national prisoners who were released without consideration. In particular, I refer the noble Lord to the most recent Written Ministerial Statement, of 23 May 2006 (WS 41), in which we set out the department's organisational failings in this area and explained the eight priority areas set out for management action to rectify these. In this Statement, we also confirmed that further updates would depend on the outcome of a thorough rechecking of all the information that we hold in this area. We shall update the House with those results as soon as possible.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Lord Ouseley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What action they propose to take against those who have failed to effect lawful deportations of convicted foreign nationals over the past seven years.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: I have provided regular updates to the House on all aspects of the recent events concerning the department's handling of the deportation of foreign national prisoners who were released without consideration. In particular, I refer the noble Lord to the most recent Written Ministerial Statement, of 23 May 2006 (WS 41), in which we set out the department's organisational failings in this area and explained the eight priority areas set out for management action to rectify these. In this Statement, we also confirmed that further updates would depend on the outcome of a thorough rechecking of all the information that we hold in this area. We shall update the House with those results as soon as possible.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In respect of the 1,023 foreign prisoners released under licence into the community since 1999, how many have been (a) convicted of further offences; (b) charged in connection with further alleged offences; (c) questioned by the police in connection with further alleged offences; and (d) recorded as breaching the conditions of their early release.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: We have provided regular statistical updates to the House on the number of cases where foreign national prisoners were released without proper deportation consideration. In particular, I refer the noble Baroness to the Written Ministerial Statements of 15 and 23 May 2006 on this matter. We will continue to provide the House with updates on the 1,019 cases as we work through these and urgently recheck the information we hold to ensure that any further information we provide is as accurate as possible. We aim to provide a further update by the end of June.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many convicted prisoners are now held whose deportation has been recommended by the relevant court.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: We have provided regular statistical updates to the House on the number of cases where foreign national prisoners were released without proper deportation consideration. In particular, I refer the noble Lord to the Written Ministerial Statements of 15 and 23 May 2006 on this matter. We will continue to provide the House with updates on the 1,019 cases as we work through these and urgently recheck the information we hold to ensure that any further information we provide to the House is as accurate as possible. We aim to provide a further update by the end of June.

Sustainable Development Commission

Lord Vinson: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the annual budget of the Sustainable Development Commission; who provides the funds; how many people are employed by the commission; and where they are principally located.

Lord Rooker: Overall funding for the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) for the financial year 2006–07 is expected to be around £3.8 million. Core funding is provided by Defra (£3.1 million) and the devolved Administrations. The SDC also receives funding from other departments for specific posts or projects.
	The SDC secretariat is currently made up of 42 staff, of whom 34 are full-time Defra civil servants. Thirty-nine staff are based in Ergon House, Horseferry Road, London and the remaining three are located in each of the devolved Administrations. The chairman of the commission and the commissioners (currently 13) are also funded from this budget.

Water Supply: Abstraction

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the breakdown of the cost of advertising the requirements for those seeking permission to abstract or impound water on the Environment Agency's website; and how that cost compares to the cost of advertising the same information in the London Gazette; and
	How an interested party can access the requirements for those seeking permission to abstract or impound water on the Environment Agency's website; and whether that website is available 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

Lord Rooker: The Environment Agency does not charge an applicant for placing adverts for permissions to abstract or impound water on its website. All adverts are placed on the website for a period of 28 days. In comparison, the London Gazette charges £117.50 per advert per day (this includes uploading on to its website).
	Before the Water Resources (Abstraction and Impounding) Regulations 2006 came into force, an applicant would have had to pay for advertising twice in a local paper and once in the London Gazette. Now applicants need only pay for advertising once in a local paper, with a one-off charge of a £100 advertising administration fee to the Environment Agency. This covers all the administration work for arranging the publication of the advert in a local paper. The change in advertising represents a substantial saving for the applicant.
	An interested party is able to access the Environment Agency's website 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The web pages can be found at www.environmentagency.gov.uk/subjects/waterres/564321/566207/1029480/?version=1=&lang=–e.

Water Supply: Consumption

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What was the total consumption of water in cubic metres, including a breakdown of consumption per occupant, in the headquarters of the Department of Trade and Industry in each of the past 10 years.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: Reporting on the progress against the targets contained in Chapter C, "Water Services", under the Framework for Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG), was not introduced until 2002 and records are not available prior to this date. Consumption in the DTI HQ buildings for the period 2002 to 2005 was:
	
		
			 Financial Year Total consumption per cubic metre Average cubic metres per person 
			 2002–03 47,506 9.23 
			 2003–04 40,657 8.1 
			 2004–05 32,781 8.6

Zimbabwe: Forced Evictions

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have sought assurances from the Government of Zimbabwe that they have ceased their policy of house demolitions; and
	What assessment they have made of the possible actions they could take in response to the forced evictions in Zimbabwe; and whether they consider that any of these actions would be effective.

Lord Triesman: We have played a leading role in the humanitarian response to the forced evictions in Zimbabwe. The Department for International Development last year committed £1.8 million in response, which reached 42,000 households, approximately 200,000 people, with food, blankets and other essential items, and we continue to provide support to the UN. We recently contributed a further £1.1 million to provide practical assistance to vulnerable urban families, many of whom remain in difficulty.
	We supported the investigation into the evictions by the UN Secretary-General's special envoy, Anna Tibaijuka, and subsequent discussions by the UN Security Council. With our support, the EU has joined the UN in condemning the demolitions and, through our embassy in Harare, we continue to raise our concerns about the impact of this policy. We have received occasional assurances that they have stopped, but we continue to see reports that some evictions are still taking place.

Zimbabwe: Press Freedom

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have held talks with the Government of Zimbabwe regarding the press in Zimbabwe.

Lord Triesman: Our embassy in Harare regularly raises the lack of press freedom with the Government of Zimbabwe. In a Written Ministerial Statement on 27 February, my right honourable friend the then Foreign Secretary (Jack Straw) underlined our concern about the continued suppression of independent journalism (Official Report, cols. 4-5WS). We are concerned that a new Interception of Communications Bill will restrict yet further the freedom to exchange information.
	We will continue to work with those in Zimbabwe promoting independent media and pressing for respect for good governance and the rule of law.